WCC NEWS: Tribute to Ernst Lange honours pioneer who saw the ecumenical movement as “test case of faith”

Former World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser has praised the contribution to the ecumenical movement of former WCC staff member Ernst Lange, who died suddenly 50 years ago on 3 July 1974. Photo: WCC 03 July 2024 Lange was director of the WCC’s division of ecumenical action, and the first German to serve as a WCC associate general secretary.  “Lange was convinced that the ecumenical renewal of the churches needs to be understood and organized as a process that sets in motion and raises the consciousness of their members,” Raiser writes in his tribute. Lange served at the WCC for only two years from 1968 to 1970 before ill health compelled him to return to Germany, followed by his untimely death in 1974 at the age of 47. Lange’s insights, even if unacknowledged, influenced the WCC as it has sought to change its self-image and its forms of action and decision-making, writes Raiser, who knew Lange personally. Particularly important in this context was Lange’s use of the idea of “conciliarity” based on a WCC study from 1971, and set out in his book And Yet It Moves: Dream and Reality of the Ecumenical Movement. For Lange, this meant developing a safe space where those with different points of view could seek a lasting consensus without having to give up their identities.  ”His most important ecumenical legacy is that he started from a comprehensive and inclusive understanding of ecumenism,” Raiser states. “For him, the aspects of action and reflection, grassroots and leadership responsibility, global and local challenges, unity and justice, consensus and conflict, which are often played off against each other, need to remain quite consciously related to each other in their tension.”   A pioneer who saw the ecumenical movement as the “test case of faith” Tribute to Ernst Lange by Konrad Raiser [available in English and German]   “The Test Case of Faith” Article by Ernst Lange published in The Ecumenical Review, July 1973 See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland

WCC NEWS: WCC extends warm wishes to Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser on his 85th birthday

As former World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser turned 85 on 25 January, WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay extended warm wishes on behalf of the global WCC fellowship. Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser during the presentation of his book "The Challenge of Transformation: An Ecumenical Journey" at Ecumenical centre in Geneva, 05 February 2018. Photo: Peter Kenny/WCC 25 January 2023 In a letter of gratitude, Pillay assured Raiser of the WCC’s prayers for God’s blessings. “It is a particular pleasure for me to be able to send these greetings as I begin my own service as general secretary of the World Council of Churches,” said Pillay. “We remain deeply indebted to all that you have contributed to the World Council of Churches and the wider ecumenical movement for more than 50 years: as study secretary in the Secretariat for Faith and Order which you joined In 1969 when you were 31; as deputy general secretary to Philip Potter from 1973 to 1983; as professor for systematic and ecumenical theology at the University of the Ruhr in Bochum from 1983 to 1993; and as general secretary of the WCC from 1993 to 2003.” Pillay also acknowledged Raiser has continued to offer support and encouragement to the WCC, symbolized most recently by Raiser’s presence at the WCC’s 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe last year.  “This year we will be celebrating one of the earliest activities in which you were involved in your time as Faith and Order study secretary, with the 50th anniversary of the Leuenberg Agreement between Lutheran, Reformed, and United churches in Europe and beyond,” added Pillay. “You took part in the final stages of this agreement, which was able to overcome the doctrinal condemnations of the Reformation period and declare ecclesial communion between the participating churches.” Many still remember the WCC’s 6th Assembly in Vancouver in 1983 planned under Raiser’s leadership as deputy general secretary, added Pillay. “As I embark on my own ministry as general secretary of the World Council of Churches, I am honoured to join you on this ecumenical pilgrimage, to be transformed and renewed,” he said. “I extend again my greetings to you on your 85th birthday, and ask for God’s blessing on you and Elisabeth and your whole family.” WCC greetings on the occasion of the 85th birthday of Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser 1 October 2016, Bossey, Switzerland: Former World Council of Churches general secretary Konrad Raiser and his wife Elizabeth Raiser join as the Bossey Ecumenical Institute marks 70 years of ecumenical formation since its foundation in 1946. Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland